Ringworld Engineers
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''The Ringworld Engineers'' is a 1979
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
novel by American writer
Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His 1970 novel ''Ringworld'' won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus, Ditmar Award, Ditmar, and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula award ...
. It is the first sequel to Niven's ''
Ringworld ''Ringworld'' is a 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. ''Ringworld'' tells the story of Louis Wu and his companions on a mission to the Ringworld, an ...
'' and was nominated for both the Hugo and
Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. Originally a poll ...
s in 1981.


Origin

In the introduction to the novel, Niven says that he never planned to write more than one ''Ringworld'' novel, but that he did so, in a large part, due to fan support. Firstly, the popularity of ''Ringworld'' resulted in a demand for a sequel. Secondly, many fans had identified numerous
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
problems in the Ringworld as described in the novel. The first major problem was that the Ringworld, being a rigid structure, was not actually in orbit around the star it encircled and would eventually drift, resulting in the entire structure colliding with its sun and disintegrating. In the novel's introduction, Niven says that
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
students attending the 1971 World Science Fiction Convention chanted, "The Ringworld is unstable! The Ringworld is unstable!" Niven says that one reason he wrote ''The Ringworld Engineers'' was to address these engineering problems.


Plot summary

The Hindmost, recently deposed leader of the
Puppeteers A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...
, abducts the human
Louis Wu Louis Gridley Wu, a fictional character, is the protagonist in Larry Niven's ''Ringworld'' book series. Louis Wu was born in 2650 to Carlos Wu and Sharrol Janss. When he appears in ''Ringworld'', Louis is 6′2″ (188 cm) tall. Without ...
(who has become a wirehead) and the
Kzin The Kzinti (singular: Kzin) are an alien cat-like species developed by Larry Niven in his ''Known Space'' series. The Kzinti were initially introduced in Niven's story "The Warriors" (originally in '' Worlds of If'' (1966), collected in ''Tales ...
Chmeee This is a list of fictional characters featured in the ''Known Space'' novels by Larry Niven. Individual characters Sigmund Ausfaller Sigmund Ausfaller, a native of Earth, is a member of the Amalgamated Regional Militia ("ARM"), working in th ...
(previously known as "Speaker-to-Animals"). Both had been part of the original Ringworld expedition. The Hindmost hopes to acquire Ringworld technology, specifically matter transmutation, to help him regain his position. Once they reach the Ringworld, Louis and Chmeee are sent out to explore, while the Hindmost remains safely behind on their starship. Louis and Chmeee secretly plot to try to overthrow the Hindmost so they can go home. In their travels, they meet a number of the
hominid The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); '' Gorilla'' (the ...
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
that have evolved on the Ringworld. They also learn more about the full-scale "maps" of various
known space Known Space is the fictional setting of about a dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories by American writer Larry Niven. It has also become a shared universe in the spin-off ''Man-Kzin Wars'' anthologies. The Inter ...
worlds, including Earth,
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
and Kzin. They discover that the Ringworld has become unstable and will collide with its star soon. The Ringworld's builders, revealed to be
Pak Protector Pak Breeders and Pak Protectors are two developmental stages of fictional life in Larry Niven's Known Space universe. The Pak first appeared in "The Adults", which appeared in ''Galaxy'' in 1967; this story was expanded into the novel ''Protect ...
s, have long since died out, and the attitude jets they installed all around the rim to maintain the Ringworld's position were dismounted to use as starship engines. Chmeee goes to the Kzin map for his own goals, while Louis tries to find some way to save the trillions of inhabitants. It is on the Map of Mars that the reunited party (and two natives) finds the Ringworld control room Louis is seeking, located in a vast maze of rooms in the hollow space under the map. To create the rarefied atmosphere on Mars, the Map of Mars was built above the main surface, creating a cavity. The control room contains living space and, among other things, the meteor defense system. The defense system uses the superconductor grid embedded in the Ringworld's '' scrith'' floor to manipulate the magnetic field of the Ringworld's sun to trigger
stellar flare The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as st ...
s that power a titanic
gas laser A gas laser is a laser in which an electric current is discharged through a gas to produce coherent light. The gas laser was the first continuous-light laser and the first laser to operate on the principle of converting electrical energy to a las ...
. (The first expedition to the Ringworld crashed after their ship was hit by this laser.) They encounter
Teela Brown This is a list of fictional characters featured in the ''Known Space'' novels by Larry Niven. Individual characters Sigmund Ausfaller Sigmund Ausfaller, a native of Earth, is a member of the Amalgamated Regional Militia ("ARM"), working in t ...
, a human member of the first expedition who had chosen to remain on Ringworld. She and her lover Seeker had, in the course of their travels, stumbled upon "Tree-of-Life" plants. The smell of the plant drove them to eat its roots; Teela was turned into a Pak Protector, with superhuman intelligence and strength, but Seeker died, being too old to undergo the transformation. As a Pak Protector, Teela has little control of her actions; her protective instincts force her to try to save ''all'' of the Ringworld inhabitants. This causes a dilemma. She knows of a way to save the Ringworld, but it would entail killing 5% of the people. This she cannot do. She manages to lure Louis and the others to where they can save the other 95%. Her instincts make her fight them, but she does so half-heartedly so that they can kill her. Afterward, Louis figures out what to do. Teela had restored starship engines to their original purpose as attitude jets, but only had enough for 5% of the ring. Louis explains that the meteor defense system can generate a massive stellar flare (normally used to power the laser weapon) to provide twenty times more fuel to the attitude jets to move the Ringworld back into position. However, the radiation from the flare will be fatal to everything and everyone living on that section of the Ringworld. The actual task is carried out by the Hindmost, who is far superior at operating the control systems (and can safely pass through a Tree-of-Life plantation en route to the control center, as Louis cannot). Having earlier destroyed the hyperdrive to force the Hindmost to cooperate, Louis is stranded. He and the rest of his party look for some place to settle down, while the Hindmost remains aboard the disabled (but very safe) starship to think things over.


References to other Known Space works

Apart from the obvious references to the preceding novel ''
Ringworld ''Ringworld'' is a 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. ''Ringworld'' tells the story of Louis Wu and his companions on a mission to the Ringworld, an ...
'', ''The Ringworld Engineers'' also draws upon ideas elaborated in Niven's 1973 novel '' Protector'' for Teela Brown's ultimate fate.


Publication history

* 1979, USA, Galileo Magazine, 4 part serialization July 1979, September 1979, November 1979, January 1980 * 1979, USA,
Phantasia Press Phantasia Press LLC is an American small publisher formed by Alex Berman and the late Sidney Altus publishing hardcover limited editions of science fiction and fantasy books. It was active from 1978 to 1989. In 2023, Phantasia Press resumed publi ...
, , Boxed edition, limited to 500 copies * 1980, USA,
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in high schools. The Holt name is derived from that of U.S. publisher Henry Holt (1840–1926), co-founder of the ...
, , Hardcover * 1981, USA,
Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...
, Paperback * 1985, USA, Ballantine Books , Pub Date 12 November 1985, Paperback * 1997, USA, Ballantine Books , Pub Date 23 June 1997, Paperback * 1992, UK,
Orbit Books Orbit Books is an international publisher that specialises in science fiction and fantasy books. It is a division of Lagardère Publishing. History Orbit Books was founded in 1974 as part of the Macdonald Futura publishing company. In 1992, ...
, Pub Date 12 Aug 1992, Paperback


Reception

The ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' wrote, "For new readers, there's fascinating adventure in plenitude. For old fans of Niven's Known Space series, or of the original volume, there are all the fine, characteristic touches that delight us Niven fans, and which support his reputation for uncommon wittiness and fast narrative pace." Thomas M. Wagner of SFreviews.net reviewed the book in 2001 and gave it a 4 out of 5 rating. Wagner rated it higher than the first book. He found some of the storytelling outdated but overall praised Niven for "a consummate professional's skill at balancing imagination and science harmoniously."
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...
commented that the author "commands an impressive vein of invention, but his plotting here is limp and threadbare."


Notes


External links


Ringworld Engineers
at Worlds Without End {{DEFAULTSORT:Ringworld Engineers, The 1979 American novels 1979 science fiction novels Fiction set around 61 Ursae Majoris American science fiction novels Known Space stories Novels by Larry Niven Novels set in the 29th century Phantasia Press books